View full sizeDick Blume / The Post-StandardManlius Fire Department Chief Paul Whorrall at Manlius station last year. Whorrall said the chiefs have started taking steps to work as a unit to save money after a proposed merger of four fire departments in eastern Onondaga County into a single fire district was dismissed.

The proposed merger of four fire departments in eastern Onondaga County into a single fire district is dead after a committee concluded the consolidation would be too costly and complicated.

That comes despite a recommendation last year by a consultant that merging the Manlius, Minoa, Fayetteville and Kirkville departments to save money and improve service in the towns of Manlius and Pompey.

The six-person group studying the proposal, called the implementation advisory committee, made the recommendation against a single district. An executive committee, made up of the affected town supervisors and village mayors, accepted the recommendation, said Ed Theobald, executive committee chair, who is also Manlius town supervisor.

The bottom line is “a joint fire district just becomes too costly,” said Theobald, speaking for the advisory committee members. “Also, it becomes too complex to put together and also takes the control of the fire departments out of the hands of the taxpayers.”

Theobald said a district involving two towns and four departments sets up a whole new level of government.

“The district would be run by an independent authority which could tax and administrate on its own, and none of the towns or villages would have control over that,” he said. “That didn’t make sense.”

Instead of a joint fire district, the advisory group recommended an “operational consolidation” as the best way to go, Theobald said. That means the fire departments would work together and combine forces in the areas of purchasing, capital planning, training and operations.

Manlius Village Fire Chief Paul Whorrall said the chiefs have started taking steps to work as a unit to save money.

“I think the things the chiefs have decided to do will work to our advantage and save money, without going through all the rigmarole and all the legalities of setting up a joint district,” Whorrall said. “Sometimes the more hands that get involved, the more political it becomes, and then it’s not about safety and response anymore.”

Since 1972, only 50 of the state’s 1,857 departments have consolidated or gone out of business.

In March 2011, Ron Graner, a consultant, was hired and paid $20,000 by the towns of Pompey, Manlius and the villages of Manlius, Minoa and Fayetteville to study fire and emergency services in eastern Onondaga County.

Graner recommended looking at other joint fire districts such as North Greenbush and Webster.

Theobald said North Greenbush consolidated but didn’t form a joint district, so it wasn’t applicable. Webster, near Rochester, did form a joint district but it is staffed only by volunteers, and doesn’t provide any EMS service, he said.

In Webster, the cost for fire protection is $1.09 per $1,000 of assessed value, but that’s with no paid personnel and no ambulance service.

Under a single district, Theobald said the projected cost would be $1.82 per $1,000 of assessed value, not including costs associated with hiring an administrator or legal costs to set up the district.

The rates now are: $2. 23 per $1,000 of assessed value for Fayetteville, $1.59 per $1,000 in the village of Manlius, $1.17 in Minoa and $2.01in Kirkville. So while Fayetteville and Kirkville might save some money, Minoa and Manlius residents would pay more, Theobald said

As part of its evaluation, the committee met with Graner, toured each fire department and EMS, talked with the chiefs and researched out to other fire districts.

To create a joint district, Graner’s study recommended an overall chief/administrator would be required, and that would cost at least $75,000.

The chiefs gave a report on their efforts to the IAC, and they were pleased, Theobald said.

“They came to us with goals and a mission statement,” he said. “It’s things they can start on immediately. And it has zero upfront cost, and less risk.”

Whorrall said the cost savings should be substantial over time.

The chiefs have already implemented these measures:

-Formed a training committee to provide basic training to all fire/EMS townwide personnel.

-Formed a townwide special operations committee which works together to perform specialty services such as high-angle rope rescues, water or ice rescue, and more.

-Agreed to work together on capital purchasing by combining when buying a large piece of apparatus or ensuring they not purchase duplicate equipment.

-Met with the 911 center to ensure departments within the town back up each other.

Graner, the consultant who moved to Fayetteville two months ago, said he understands 75 to 80 percent of his recommendations in the report are being implemented, such as joint purchasing and training.

“If they do all these things, it will save them money,” Graner said.. “They can accomplish the same thing.”